Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds
Costa Mesa, California
51st US National Speedway Championship
September 28, 2019 - Costa Mesa
Report by Ryan Evans
51st U.S. National Championship - Costa Mesa, CA, USA - September 28, 2019
Billy “The Kid” Janniro once again rose to the occasion by winning his second consecutive SRA National Championship and sixth SRA title overall at the world famous Costa Mesa Speedway.
The championship format and a Last Chance Race whittled the field of 16 racers down to just four competitors who would come to the tapes in the National Championship Final. Janniro earned the right to pick his starting position first and he selected gate one. Two-time National Champion Aaron Fox was next and chose gate two. “Mad” Max Ruml, seeking his first National title picked gate four. Gino Manzares, also trying to earn his first title, was left with the dreaded gate three.
Fox was first off the starting line when the tapes went up but Janniro got a better drive into turn one and took the lead. Ruml lifted at the start and got a bit of unwanted traction in turn one which sent him wide and he then found himself contending with Manzares for third as they exited turn two. Janniro led Fox as they entered turn three and Manzares secured third. Janniro stretched his lead to a comfortable distance and was never seriously threatened. Manzares closed in on Fox for second but couldn’t get close enough to force a mistake. Janniro crossed the finish line with a celebratory wheelie, Fox finished second, Manzares was third, and Ruml finished fourth.
Janniro’s sixth SRA championship brings him one behind the seven captured by the legendary Mike Bast. A record that once seemed unreachable is now within his grasp.
Intermittent sprinkles and ominous clouds and the venue’s proximity to the coast cast serious doubt over whether or not the event would even be staged. A larger-than-expected number of loyal speedway fans still turned up to witness the 51st U.S. National Speedway Championship.
Fox kicked off the evening by beating former National Champion Bryan Yarrow. Event two provided the first big showdown of the evening was and it was Ruml who handed Janniro would turn out to be his only defeat of the evening. Austin Novratil beat twice former National Champion Charlie “The Edge” Venegas in event three. Russell Green beat Manzares following a restart to finish the first round.
The second round began with Manzares beating Yarrow. Janniro beat Venegas for his first win of the night. Fox made a great start from gate four to defeat Ruml for his second straight win. Novratil made it two for two by beating Sebastian “Big Daddy” Palmese to end round two.
Janniro started round three by beating Green for his second win in a row. Novratil earned his third straight victory by defeating former National Champion Bart Bast. Fox matched Novratil’s perfect score by beating “Fast” Eddie Castro in the next event. Manzares ended the third round with a win over Ruml.
The fourth round got off to a tumultuous start. Novratil got into the tapes and was penalized, thus dramatically hindering his chances of maintaining a perfect score. He then brought out the red flag with a fall and was excluded. The next attempt ended when Yarrow and Sammy Ramirez clashed while battling for second with Yarrow sent to the penalty line in what would prove to be costly later in the evening. Ruml was victorious when the race was finally completed with Sammy Ramirez getting second.
Manzares won his third straight race with Castro finishing second. Fox remained unblemished by scoring the victory over Green. Round four finished with Janniro beating Palmese.
Fox’s perfect 12 points placed him atop the score chart; Janniro and Manzares both sat one point back with 11 apiece; Ruml had 10 points; Novratil had nine points; Green’s tally was eight. Fox, Janniro, Manzares, and Novratil would all meet in event 19 in a race that many had correctly circled prior to the evening as the most pivotal of the preliminary rounds.
The last round of heats opened with Yarrow and Venegas engaged in a side-by-side battle before Venegas’s outside line paid off with a victory and Yarrow would ultimately miss the Last Chance Race by one point. Ruml’s victory over Green in event 18 would end up being enough to put him directly into the Final.
Tensions were high for event 19 as every racer was guaranteed to move into the championship round and three had a chance at being not only in the Final but also have a chance to have first choice of starting position in the Final. There was movement just prior to the tapes going up and an unsatisfactory start was declared. Janniro had secured the lead exiting two before the racers saw the red flags. The racers entered turn one in tight formation on the second start but Fox, who started in gate one, and Janniro, who started in gate four made the best turn. Fox drifted wide to protect his slight lead. Janniro swept around the outside, found enough traction, and bravely squeezed through the narrow gap between Fox and the wall to take the lead. Fox valiantly tried to chase down the leader but there was no catching him. Janniro took the win and earned first gate choice in the Final, Fox finished second and moved on to the Final, Novratil was third, and Manzares was fourth.
Bast battled with Sammy Ramirez before taking the lead and the win in the last heat of the night. Bast’s victory secured the last qualifying spot for the Last Chance.
Manzares booked his place in the Final with a solid victory in the Last Chance. Bast finished second, Green was third, and Novratil suffered an engine failure.
In addition to the National Championship, the Support Class, the Junior 250s, and the Mini 150s were on the program. There weren’t any championships up for grabs, but they relished the chance to race during such a big event.
John Wilder led all four laps en route to victory in the Support Main Event. Joey Donaldson finished second, Rudy Laurer was third, and Eloy Medellin finished fourth.
The first attempt of the Junior 250 Main Event ended abruptly when Wilbur Hancock went over backwards at the starting line and brought out the red flag. He gingerly returned to the pits and was done for the evening. The restart was all Slater Lightcap as he raced away with a resounding victory. Luke Whitcomb was second and Justin Almon finished third.
Levi Leutz put together four smooth laps and was victorious in the Mini 150 Main Event. Jose Navarrete finished second, Nick Dunn was third, and Max Anderson finished fourth.
RESULTS
U.S. National Championship Final
1 – Billy Janniro
46 – Aaron Fox
24 – Gino Manzares
5 – Max Ruml
Last Chance
24 – Gino Manzares
87 – Bart Bast
321 – Russell Green
7 – Austin Novratil (engine failure)
Support Main Event
249 – John Wilder
37 – Joey Donaldson
182 – Rudy Laurer
178 – Eloy Medellin
Junior 250 Main Event (restarted)
28 – Slater Lightcap
27 – Luke Whitcomb
7 – Justin Almon
117 – Wilbur Hancock (non starter – restart)
Mini 150 Main Event
9 – Levi Leutz
48 – Jose Navarrete
76 – Nick Dunn
8 – Max Anderson
Heat Scoring 1 2 3 4 5 T
1 – Billy Janniro 2 3 3 3 3 14
5 – Max Ruml 3 2 2 3 3 13
6 – Shawn McConnell F 0 1 1 R 2
7 – Austin Novratil 3 3 3 Fx 1 10
8 – Bryan Yarrow 2 2 1 1 2 8
11 – Bobby Schwartz 0 1 0 0 0 1
14 – Eddie Castro 0 0 2 2 1 5
21 – Brad Sauer 0 0 1 0 1 2
24 – Gino Manzares 2 3 3 3 0 11
43 – Charlie Venegas 2 2 0 0 3 7
46 – Aaron Fox 3 3 3 3 2 14
66 – Jason Ramirez 1 1 0 1 2 5
87 – Bart Bast 1 1 2 1 3 8
199 – Sammy Ramirez 1 0 F 2 F 3
259 – Sebastian Palmese 1 2 1 2 1 7
321 – Russell Green 3 1 2 2 2 10
249 – John Wilder (R) Did not ride
178 – Eloy Medellin (R) Did not ride
Heat Results
1: Fox, Yarrow, Palmese, Schwartz
2: Ruml, Janniro, Bast, Castro
3: Novratil, Venegas, J. Ramirez, Sauer (fell, remounted)
4: (restarted) Green, Manzares, S. Ramirez, McConnell (fell)
5: Manzares, Yarrow, Bast, Sauer
6: (restarted) Janniro, Venegas, Schwartz, S. Ramirez (penalty line)
7: Fox, Ruml, J. Ramirez, McConnell
8: Novratil, Palmese, Green, Castro
9: Janniro, Green, Yarrow, J. Ramirez
10: Novratil, Bast, McConnell, Schwartz
11: Fox, Castro, Sauer, S. Ramirez (fell)
12: Manzares, Ruml, Palmese, Venegas
13: (restarted twice) Ruml, Ramirez, Yarrow (penalty line), Novratil (tape penalty) (fell, excluded)
14: Manzares, Castro, J. Ramirez, Schwartz
15: Fox, Green, Bast, Venegas
16: Janniro, Palmese, McConnell, Sauer
17: Venegas, Yarrow, Castro, McConnell (retired)
18: Ruml, Green, Sauer, Schwartz
19: Janniro, Fox, Novratil, Manzares
20: Bast, J. Ramirez, Palmese, S. Ramirez
Ryan Evans
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